Try Silica Gel Kitty Litter

One hundred years ago, if your cat needed to do its business, you either let it out or had a pan of ashes or sand for it. The first commercial kitty litter was created in at the end of the 1940s and consisted of an absorbent clay that certainly worked better than sand, but still wasn’t the best for absorbing odors.

Since then, kitty litter has developed into plenty of other forms, including litters that clump for easy cleaning, even litters that you can flush down the toilet. Among the newer types of kitty litter, silica gel is becoming popular. This substance, relatively unique among cat litters, has some properties that make it a wonderful choice for the litter box.

Super Absorbency

Silica gel was already in use prior to its use as kitty litter, particularly in packaging of different substance ranging from edibles such as pepperoni to clothes such as leather shoes. This substance consists of little clear or whitish beads and is often kept in tiny little packets when used. The reason why these little packs of silica gel are used is because the substance is super absorbent, soaking up moisture from around materials and discouraging mold and other materials that thrive in damp environments.

A New Use

Silica gel has been in commercial use since World War I, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that entrepreneurs came up with the idea to use it as kitty litter. The manner in which it was used is similar to the original development of kitty litter by Ed Lowe, who used a substance called Fuller’s Earth, an industrial absorbent made from clay, to solve his neighbor’s kitty litter problem. Similarly, the inventors of silica gel kitty litter simply found another use for this material to absorb liquid and odors from cat urine.

Using the Litter

Finding and using silica gel kitty litter should be as easy as a trip to the pet store. Try to avoid the sorts that boast of perfumes or other additions, as all you need are the silica gel crystals. This kitty litter can be used in your regular cat box; just make sure to scoop out any solid waste daily and stir the litter at the same time to ensure that all the liquid will be absorbed.

Silica gel kitty litter is more expensive than the traditional litter, but you’ll find that you need to use less of it since all you need to scoop out is solid waste. Just be warned that when the crystals have absorbed all they can, you’ll have a little puddle at the bottom of the litter box that will need to be taken care of. Give it a try and you’ll find that the absorbency and ease of use of this litter will get you hooked right away.